CRC/C/15/Add.60
page 4
18.
The Committee is of the opinion that greater efforts are required to
make the provisions and principles of the Convention widely known and
understood by adults and children alike, in accordance with article 42 of the
Convention. The Committee wishes to encourage the State party to develop
further a systematic approach to increasing public awareness of the
participatory rights of children, in the light of article 12 of the
Convention.
19.
The Committee recommends that periodic training and retraining
programmes on the rights of the child be organized for professional groups
working with or for children, including teachers, law enforcement officials,
social workers and judges, and that human rights and children's rights be
included in their training curricula. In this respect, the Committee
encourages the authorities to pursue their cooperation with the High
Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights.
20.
The Committee recommends that the Government of Morocco consider
reviewing the reservation entered upon ratification of the Convention with a
view to withdrawing it, in the spirit of the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action adopted in June 1993, in which the World Conference on Human Rights
urged States to withdraw reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
21.
The Committee recommends that the State party take further steps to
strengthen coordination between the different governmental mechanisms involved
in human rights and children's rights, at both central and local levels, and
to ensure closer cooperation with non-governmental organizations.
22.
The Committee also recommends that the State party undertake to gather
all necessary data and statistics on the situation of children in the various
areas covered by the Convention, including on children belonging to the most
vulnerable groups. Efforts should be made to ensure implementation of
policies and measures for the promotion and protection of the rights of the
child, both at central and local levels, in cooperation with United Nations
bodies and specialized agencies, including UNICEF and ILO. It is also
suggested that a multidisciplinary monitoring system be established to assess
the progress achieved and difficulties encountered in the realization of the
rights recognized by the Convention at the central and local levels, and in
particular to monitor regularly the effects of economic change on children.
Such a monitoring system should enable the State to shape appropriate
policies and to combat prevailing social disparities and traditional
prejudices. The Committee also encourages the State to consider the
establishment of an independent mechanism, such as an ombudsperson for the
rights of the child.
23.
With respect to article 4 of the Convention, and in the light of the
current difficult economic situation, the Committee emphasizes the importance
of the allocation of resources to the maximum extent possible for the
implementation of economic, social and cultural rights of the child at both
central and local levels, in accordance with the principles of the Convention,
in particular those relating to non-discrimination and the best interests of
the child (arts. 2 and 3).
24.
The Committee recommends that appropriate political and legislative
measures be undertaken to bring legislation into conformity with the
Convention and other relevant international norms. In particular, the
Committee, recommends the reform of the penal and labour codes. It strongly
encourages the Government of Morocco to ratify ILO Convention No. 138 on the
minimum age for admission to employment and for that purpose to consider
seeking further technical cooperation from ILO.
25.
The Committee recommends that awareness campaigns concerning the rights
of the girl child be pursued in both rural and urban areas. It also urges the